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The Battleground
“Auspex return sir! We’re getting the salvation beacon now... we have confirmation! The beacon matches that of the Emperor’s Bounty, sir!” –Sensorium officer Gibbs of the Sovereign Venture One of the most well-known (and tragic) Stations of Passage, the Battleground is a vast area of becalmed space over 300,000 kilometers in diameter, filled with floating wreckage, junk, and detritus of war in orbit around a young star. According to ancient legend, this area was the site of a great space battle between the Rogue Trader brothers Trame and Ettimus Lathimon, who fought to mutual destruction. However, other tales maintain that this field of ship wreckage was ancient before the brothers’ arrival. These theories are supported by the wreckage found in the Battleground. While the vast majority of it is Imperial, there are wrecked ships deep within the field that are not. Nearly every crew that passes through these parts has a tale as to what happened here, many of them regarding events that occurred long before Rogue Traders began their exploration of the Koronus Expanse. 'The Brothers Lathimon' Trame and Ettimus were always rivals. From the day they were each given their own ship to expand their family’s dynasty, they competed and sought to outdo one another. Eventually, insult mounted upon insult, and they sought to end this tireless rivalry with a duel of ships. Each brother amassed a massive fleet and chose the Battleground to be their field. Massive munitions were launched, and scores of fighter craft and boarding torpedoes crossed the silent void to collide with massive macro shells and shafts of boiling plasma. Ships exploded and detonated with reactor breeches, and others simply drifted off; holed into lifelessness, the crew killed instantly by explosive decompression. Eventually, only the two brothers remained; each aboard their command ships, staring out across the debris-filled void at one another. Though their ships had been damaged, they could still fight. The stories continue to say that the two paused for a moment in stand-off, each daring the other to make the first move that would be sure to end in the annihilation of them both. No one can say which brother that was, but all that was found when other ships visited the battleground were drifting clouds of radioactive debris and munitions. It is likely both brothers perished, and their fleets with them. 'Salvaging the Cloud' There is some value to be found within the detritus of space debris floating in the region. For centuries, Rogue Traders have taken up cover within the cloud to affect repairs on their ships that were damaged, or to simply wait out the storms so they can continue their journey across the Maw. One wonders then why these great worthies haven’t sought to salvage what they could from this massive field of materials. The truth is that many have tried, and indeed some have found great success in doing so. However, the wealth that can be exploited from the Koronus Expanse makes the paltry debris in the Battleground pale in comparison. It’s far more profitable to set up mining operations within the Expanse than it is to simply pick over the dead bones of Rogue Traders past. Yet, this doesn’t stop new Rogue Traders from trying---thinking that they can recover more wealth in these parts than they would be able to elsewhere. Usually, they end up becoming part of the cloud themselves, either through carelessness or the predations of other Battleground scavengers. 'Using the Battleground: Salvage Endeavor' Lesser Endeavour, +1 Profit Game Masters can establish an endeavor for the Explorers that are wishing to attempt to salvage the Battleground. This is no small feat as other Rogue Traders may feel that the Explorers are encroaching on their rightful claim to the massive cloud of debris. The Game Master is encouraged to set up the Endeavour. The GM should keep in mind, however, that this should be a more difficult Endeavour than the Profit Factor awards would indicate, and should require long hours sifting through the wreckage to find valuable salvage. In addition, successful Rogue Traders regard salvaging the Battleground with disdain, a sign that one is either newly come into his Warrant or does not know how to use it. If the Rogue Trader’s Profit Factor is over a certain amount (roughly 40 or so), the GM could give him the reputation of a rag-picker or scavenger amongst his peers.